The Six-day Creation and the Theory of the Substantial Motion

It is alleged by several Quranic verses that the universe has been created by God in six days. In the exegeses of these verses، there are a number of different opinions about the meaning of “Six Days” and there are different explanations of the gradual creation of the universe and its inconsistency with the notion of divine omnipotence. According to Mullā Sadrā، “Six Days” means six “divine days” which is equal to 1000 mundane years. His idea about this issue، which is one of his innovations، is founded on the theory of the Substantial Motion. In this article، after reviewing Shiite and Sunni exegeses of aforesaid verses، I shall describe Mullā Sadrā’s idea about the issue.